Family familiarity
by Maroon-dragon
Summary: Kate goes to visit her family because of an upcomming wedding. Between her sister and Adhemar...how did Kate become of nobility? And Why did she leave it all behind? Adh/K
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hope you all like it…..I know the couple is a bit weird but sooo what :P they are fun. Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing but the plot.**

"ahem…"

"WAT GIVE IT BACK!"..

"ahem"

"GEOFF I'LL FONG YOU!"

"ahem"

"I'd LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!"

" AHEM!"

The whole group stopped with what they were doing to look at the stranger before them. This meant that Wat had his arm around Chaucer his neck and William, Kate and Roland on the ground laughing. "I have a message for Lady Kate McNair." The slightly scared looking fellow told them. "You have a message for who? " William asked standing up from the ground. "McNair is a very influential family from Scotland, they pretty much own it." Chaucer said while taking the sealed scroll from the outstretched hand, after which the unknown man left. "What do they need from us?" Roland asked now joining the group. While everyone gathered to see what the letter said they never saw Kate turning a sickly pale color.

_Dear Kate,_

_When I heard of your alignment with Sir William and the Black Prince of Wales I understood I could no longer keep you from coming home. I shouldn't keep you from coming home. So with the upcoming festivities I want to invite you and your friends to come home. Your sister is bethroted with Lord Adhemar, the count of Anjou. This joyous commitment is surely a good time for a family reunion. _

_From your father,_

_Lord Ian McNair_

"That son of a…" Kate swore. "Kate can you please explain us what is going on here?" William pleaded, he didn't understand it, what had Kate hidden from them. They were her friends. "I guess now is a time is as good as ever." She sighed as she sunk down on a barrel.

"I grew up as the daughter of Ian McNair and Angeline McNair. I was taught every single aspect of being a Noblewoman, prepared to take that place. I hated the indoors though and I left the house on more than one occasion to visit the stables. That is where I met my husband, god bless him. We were both sixteen and so in love." A small smile tugged on her lips, and a sigh came from Jocelyn who had joined the group just before the story started. "He was just tending to one of the horses his shoe when I came in. He looked up and I was met with beautiful brown eyes. I fell in love and from that moment we spend every moment I could sneak out of the house with each other. I owe a lot to my mother and nanny for helping me sneak out. But half a year after I met him my father had found a suitor for me that he found tolerable. I refused any marriage and eventually I confessed. To say my father was angry was an understatement and that night I left that house within an inch of death. I ended up with my husband. I married him learned the trade and then tragedy hit. He got into a bar-fight and didn't make it out alive. I traveled from the place that I had called home with him and ended up in France. Where you guys met me."

Chaucer looked troubled, as did William "We are your friends, why didn't you tell us?" Chaucer was supporting his head with his hands. "I didn't want the nobility treatment. The moment I heard the news of the death of my mother I tried to come home t$o be at her funeral. She was all the real family I had. My father refused me. I decided that I didn't want anything to with that family."

"I thought you looked familiar. But I was so little when I met you. You were 8 and I was 6 when we met." Jocelyn muttered to herself. "I changed a lot since I left, but Prince Edward did recognized me. He approached me after one of the jousting matches. I explained that I didn't want to be found and he promised to keep it secret. And now they did find me, I guess I'll be going home." She said bitterly.

"Why do they want you back now?" William asked. "I have a world champion and Prince Edward as supporters, my father would give anything for those alliances. He is on the brink of war with Edward thanks to his irresponsible behavior."

"Well I guess we'll be attending a wedding then. Hey you'll be family of Adhmar. Won't that be fun." Chaucer said sarcastically.

**Dun dun dun…:P**


	2. Welcome home

A/n chappie two:P

"Daddy, can we please please not invite her." Arianna begged, her slightly pudgy face turning an ugly shade of red. "Darling, she has contacts daddy needs, we wouldn't invite her otherwise. You know that!" Ian explained to his daughter. Adhemar watched the exchange with disgust. The rumored older daughter would be arriving tomorrow and he hoped it was better company then what his future wife and father were offering.

The reason he was marrying the girl that resembled a pig was because of her inheritance. He was already shuddering when he thought about reproducing. He would not be unfaithful to her though, he would not do that to anyone, as much as it was common for a nobleman. No, he would be celibate for the rest of his life. "My apologies my lord, but I would like to excuse myself to my room." Adhemar requested with a bow, hoping to prevent his migraine from getting worse. "Of course, of course Count Adhemar". He was dismissed by a small wave. With a slightly hurried walk he left the room. As he walked the long winding hallways he spotted a portrait in the back of a dark hallway. It was of a beautiful woman with an equally beautiful daughter. The daughter had to be somewhere around 16 years old in the painting. She reminded him of someone. She had elegant features and looked a lot like her mother. Too bad the second daughter hadn't inherited those features.

He entered his room and walked over to the huge window where he sat down on a bench watching the dreary day outside. The droplets of rain slowly tracked their way down the window till they eventually joined at the bottom. Rainy days always made him happy. They were the perfect days to take away the smothering heat and read a good book near a fire. Right now it was nearing midnight though and he was tired, so retiring for the day seemed a better idea.

Kate shuddered as the big castle loomed before them. Once it had been beautiful, with white walls, and wild roses growing everywhere. But now it's splendor was taken away by the ugly marks that meant that there had been fires. There had been a lot of rebellion in her fathers country for some years now. He spend more money than they had, and had made a lot of use of the _droît de seigneur_ (an old right that claims that the king can sleep with the bride before she weds, so he takes her virginity and not her husband) right he had. It sickened her. Now she had to be there again. The only good thing about this was that the country would not be destructed more by war with Edward. She may not lover her father, and she had denied her place at court for a long while, but she was loyal to her people.

"HALT! State your name and purpose!" a guard yelled when they were near the gate. The trenches that surrounded the castle were filled with water and the bridge was pulled up. "Do they think we might swim across the trenches and break open the gate or something?" Watt questioned and Roland gave him a punch in the shoulder to make him shut up. "This is Kate McNair to attend the wedding between my sister and Adhemar, Count of Anjou." Geoffrey called out. Considering it was inappropriate to let royalty call for themselves. With a loud rattle the gate slowly was lowered and a dozen soldiers came out. "Let me see then!" The oldest one demanded. "Aidan!" Kate exclaimed as she hopped off the horse. "Oh my dear friend, you have grown up I see."She whispered in his ear as he hugged. "This is most definitely Kate McNair guys!" he laughed as he hugged her back.

The horses were led inside and the group looked around as the castle gate closed again. The inside of the castle was as impressive as the outside. Geoff whistled softly "no wonder Adhemar wants to marry the daughter." The group followed the soldiers into a big hallway. Kate felt her anger rise as she saw no portrait of her mother or her anywhere. The previous family members were all there and a gigantic portrait of her father and sister hung directly above the door that led to the dining hall, from which festive sounds could be heard.

Kate nodded to Geoff it was time to greet her family. As the herald entered the room to announce her, she swiped away some imagined dust of her emerald gown. She was decked in the finest silk to greet her father, considering she was still royalty. As she heard her name being called out a hush fell over the room that she was about to enter. Lifting her head up she went inside. There on a high chair was her father with next to him her sister. She slowly walked forward as all the heads she passed bowed down to her. "Good Day father." She said as she bowed her head down to him.

"Good day to you to Daughter. I see the years have done you good. You've made a great alliance and are a brilliant asset to our family." The words, though seemingly kind were spoken with a strong hatred. "Let me introduce you to your sister her future husband. Count Adhemar of Anjou." He said as the dark haired man stepped forward. "My lady." He said as he bowed and took her hand to kiss it. She pulled it back. It was a normal greeting, but the thought of him kissing her hand made Kate quite sick. "Count Adhemar, I believe we have already met before, so please leave out these formalities as the meeting was never pleasant." She said. "You little Whench! The slap reverberated throughout the hall. Her eyes lit up with a heated fire as she stared back at her father who was still breathing heavily from the force he put in it. "You will show respect to my guest! Now get out of my sight!"

Kate turned around with an astonishing grace after being hit in the face and left the hall with her head held high. She passed Watt who was being restrained by William and Roland to not go after her father, and Christina and Jocelyn who looked at her with pity. She didn't look at Geoff who war looking murderously at her father. She however never noticed Adhemar, who looked at her with interest and had his hand on his sword as if he had been ready to chop her father his hand off. Geoff however did see it.


	3. Thunderstorm

**Sorry for the very very late update….I've just been so busy, and my mind has hit a full frontal writers block. Thanks for the people that reviewed me and added me, it means a lot :D. **

The wind lifted up strands of her dark hair as she breathed in the cold air. This had always been her favorite place, the northern tower. From that tower you could see the entire land her father owned, or so she had believed when she was little. She was too young to understand then how much she would actually inherit and how much her father abused that power. In the far distance clouds were gathering, predicting a heavy rainfall. The air was moist around her. She plucked a single dark rose from the vines that crept across the towers wall up to the very top. It was perfect and beautiful, just like her mother had been. "This is a magnificent spot." She smiled as the voice of her dear friend was carried to her on the wind. "Yes it is, my mother used to take me here to show me what I would inherit one day." She leaned on the wall as Geoffrey joined her side. He was taller than her, and she felt oddly comforted by that. His blue eyes looked out over the vast lands before them. His blond hair being tousled by the wind. He was beautiful.

"In the Quiet Land...  
In the Quiet Land, no one can hear  
what is silenced by murder  
and covered up with fear.  
But, despite what is forced, freedom's a sound  
that liars can't fake and no shouting can drown."

His voice always soothed her, and right now that was exactly what she needed. She leaned against his shoulder. "Thanks Geoff." She whispered and in silence they watched the clouds near.

The first droplets hit her warm cheeks reminding her that they should get inside. Her room was beckoning her, warm and welcome in this cold palace. It had been left untouched when she left, she had always lived in a far end of the castle, they didn't need the space. As she stood in the doorway she spotted small holes in the wood indicating it had been barricaded once upon a time. The paintings of her mother were still there, she opened the hidden compartment in her bed to find all her jewelry still there. A small smile graced her lips as she fingered her favorite sapphire necklace. "Hello there Kate." A smooth voice came from behind her. She rose to her feet turning around to face him head on. "Count Adhemar, to what do I owe you this pleasure?" She lengthened the last word and noted with a small vindictive smile that he shivered.

She was a minx that blacksmith. He stared at her, her green dress accenting her feminine yet strong body. Her eyes, being big, and round gave the impression of innocence. She had a delicate face, long eyelashes, full mouth, small nose. Oh yes, she was a spitfire. He chuckled at her obvious dismay of being within ten feet of him. "Lady McNair, we started off on the wrong foot, but we will be family soon. Perhaps it is time for us to let the past rest." He actually meant that. He hated William with a passion, but hating his sister in law? William got Jocelyn so what, she wasn't half as rich as Kate her sister was. She looked doubtful. "Fine, I will tolerate you Count Adhemar, this family knows enough trouble as it is without us hating each other as well." Her Scottish accent sent slight shivers down his spine that he shouldn't feel. Instead holding out her hand for him to kiss she held it out for a handshake. He grabbed it and shook it. "I shall leave you to your rest my lady." He said as he bowed down and walked out of the room backwards. "oh and you might want to put some ice on your cheek. It looks like it will bruise." As he left the room to move to the one next to it he clenched his hands, slamming one fist right against his door. How could a man hit his own child? "My lord?" He turned around to see Germaine staring at him. His bright brown eyes wide open. "Everything is alright Germaine. I thought you had already gone to sleep?" He sank down on his bed all the while pulling his shirt over his head. "Yes but Lady McNair had something that needed to be brought downstairs immediately." Adhemar noticed the obvious disdain in his friends voice. He had little few people left in the world that had stood by his side like Germaine had. "Germaine you are my herald not her personal servant. You are fully allowed to ignore her whishes. If she says something about it tell her to come directly to me, understood?" The relief on the man his face was evidence enough that this was not the first time he had been sent out to do some dirty work for her.

As the thunder shook the castle Adhemar roamed the hallways. Oh how he hated thunderstorms. He wasn't afraid. Counts of Anjou didn't do fear. He was on his way to the kitchens to get something to quell his stomach with. A pint of beer usually did it. There was someone moving around there already, he silently pushed open the door to see the intruder. The first thing he noticed was her long black hair in a long black braid on her back. With a sigh he realized he had stumbled upon Thatchers blacksmith. "Lady McNair what a pleasant surprise." He said as he moved to lean on one of the tables. "If you think that you could actually surprise me Count you are sorely mistaken. I've been living with three boys the past year who tried to sneak past me more than once." She turned around holding a pan with some sort of liquid that she had been heating. She waved him to move aside and he watched with interest as she poured it into a cup. "What is that?" fascinated as he saw her add a little bit of some sort of brown spice. "It's my own idea of a nightcap that doesn't include alcohol." She answered. "It contains milk mixed with a bit of honey and a small hint of cinnamon." She sighed contently as she took her first sip. "I love thunderstorms, they used to frighten me, but now I thoroughly enjoy them. My mum always took me to the kitchens when it stormed and allowed me to experiment to keep my mind off the thunder. That's how I found this concoction." Another rumble of thunder and he stiffened. Her watchful eyes noticed and he cursed himself for giving his _hatred_ away. She was moving again, another cup appeared in her hands and she poured the remaining milk and honey in it, she added some of the spice that he now indeed could identify as cinnamon. Without saying a word she moved the cup towards him. He picked it up, sniffed it. It smelled good, must have been the cinnamon. As they both sipped their beverages neither said a word and the thunder and the clattering of the rain was all they heard. As he entered his bed an hour later Adhemar realized he felt drowsy and he was gone the moment his head hit the pillow. For the first time in his 28 years of existence he slept peacefully through a thunderstorm.

**Like? Love? Hate it? Please review!**


	4. horseshoes

**AN uh just before I forget, I said Adhemar his age is 28 for I have no clue how old he is supposed to be. **

Kate was used to the early mornings in the forge so when she rose that day the castle was still perfectly silent. She looked through the closet, where the maids had placed her stuff yesterday, for something to wear. As she contemplated the silence she realized something; She could go to the forge! She quickly dressed in a comfortable set of clothes and slipped out of her room.

Besides the occasional maid that scurried past Kate didn't see anyone on her way down. She grabbed an apple in the kitchen and went out through the backdoor. It was the closest one to the forge. The clanging of iron on iron soothed her slightly frayed nerves. When she entered the forge she was hit with a wave of nostalgia. Where she had first kissed her late husband, made her first horseshoe, hugged him. Without realizing it the forge had emptied leaving her alone with the fire crackling away.

He felt sweaty and satisfied. He had just been in the practice ring training his new horse. It was a beautiful black stallion, imported from the south of France. It had a temper though, nothing Adhemar couldn't handle. It needed new horseshoes and considering the horse was now worn out the blacksmith would have little trouble putting new ones on. The clanging in the forge meant he didn't need to fetch a blacksmith which only made his mood better until he turned the corner and saw exactly who was there.

"Count Adhemar I didn't expect you here." She said while putting some hot iron in the cooling water making it sizzle.

"I just need some new shoes for my horse. Where can I fetch the blacksmith." He crossed his arms and leaned against the door.

"I can fix your horse for you. Where is it?" She whipped her hands clean on a cloth.

"It's a fairly large stallion with quite a temper."

"I said I can fix it for you Count Adhemar. Show me the horse."

"Now this I want to see. A small woman with such a large horse. Be careful my lady it might bite."

Kate wanted to smack the smirk of his face. "Well Count he can hardly be any more dangerous than a thunderstorm." The look on his face was worth it.

The horse was indeed fairly large. It towered over her as she bent down to inspect the hooves. They needed replacement indeed. She came back up again and turned around only to come face to face with a rather muscular chest. Her eyes travelled upwards until they finally met sparkling green ones. "still willing to put shoes on him?" He asked.

It took a small moment for Kate to realize she was staring. "Yes I am still willing. Now if you move out of my way I can get started." She huffed as he graciously moved aside. The horse seemed to snort in amusement of the antics.

Adhemar watched impressed as she calmed the horse with a few well placed strokes on his neck and managed to put horse shoes on every single hoof without much fuss of the horse. He managed to not look that impressed, he had after all tired the horse out with the practicing earlier.

"It's a magnificent beast." She said once again wiping her hands clean.

"Yes I settle for nothing less than the absolute best. It needs to have class, beauty and strength before I will even consider taking it." He looked at the horse with appreciation.

Kate snorted quite unladylike "Then why do you settle for my sister, she isn't really a beauty. And class is a word that is foreign to her."

"What your sisters lacks in class and beauty is made up by her money. And after all that's what makes the world tick." He didn't mind admitting it to her, it wasn't as if she didn't already know it.

"Well it might make the world tick, but tell me Adhemar what makes you tick?" She left the forge before he could answer her that it was money that made him tick. As she left him there speechless he realized he had never thought about what made him tick, nor how good it somehow felt for her to call him Adhemar, just Adhemar.

**Like love hate? xx **


	5. village plunderings

**For my very very dedicated readers twilightpotterstackhouse and twisted leotards. Yes I absolutely hate woman who cannot think for themselves and no I did not write the poem (sadly enough). It comes from a poem called the quiet land. You can look it up. **

What made him tick? The question drove him absolutely insane. Money is what made him tick of course. Wasn't that what drove everyone? Why would she even ask it. He had spend most of his morning training and after that he had been looking through the finances of his future father in law. He wanted to know what kind of property the guy owned. He hadn't let himself get side-tracked but now at dinner he was more than a little distracted by the question.

"Count Adhemar..?" The question through him off guard.

"Yes Lord tick, I mean Lord MacNair?" The table was silent instantly. The only sounds made came from the dogs and the servants moving around the room. He just stared at Lord Macnair trying to look not to embarrassed about his mistake. 'J_ust pretend you didn't call him Lord Tick' _Adhemar told himself mentally. Finally the silence was broken by a cough from the man in question. "I asked whether you had found some useful information today?" The table was still awfully silent. "I did Lord McNair, I am particularly interested in the farmland that lies south of this castle. I think they could be a goldmine when they are being used the right way." Thankfully most turned back to their dinner, only Lord McNair and both his daughters kept looking at him. "OWH Adhemar that's brilliant!" Arianna exclaimed, making him winch. Her voice really was annoying. A soft tinkling giggle was heard from across the table and he looked up to see Kate hide her smile behind her hand.

"Well me and Arianna are going to town tomorrow for her wedding gown. Kate can show you the property. If she behaves improper; well I always believed a beating never did anything wrong for insolent creatures." He stated it as if it was normal, which in all honesty it was, but Adhemar felt the blood roar through his ears in anger. Kate her eyes seemed to glaze over as if a hardened shield had been placed in front of them, betraying no emotion. William and the others had been in some heavy discussion concerning some new jousting-technique so they didn't hear the comment. "If the Lady in question has no objections I will accept the offer." "Of course she has no objections! She will show you around and that's that." He stated, ending the conversation by taking a large bite from a piece of grilled chicken. Adhemar had to look away from the gruesome sight of the fat dripping of his chin.

It was a little before dawn that he and Kate left the castle. They would ride for about an hour, stop in a little village before riding another 45 minutes to the property. The first ten minutes were spent in silence, just enjoying the scenery. The rising sun over the golden colored fields was beautiful, Kate let out a small sigh. She had missed riding her horse through the fields. With William they never really rode fast, it always was a calm trudge. Some of her hair was released from the tight braid she had put it in and fell freely around her face. Her green eyes sparkled with joy, and she seemed unaware that Adhemar was riding next to her. Enjoying her more than the scenery.

She seemed so carefree here riding in the open air. Gone was the tension in her shoulders, the stony eyes and the perfect posture. She was relaxed, and he was enjoying watching her like this immensely. Without realizing he had started to smile as well. She shook him out of his reverie though when she looked at him, one eyebrow raised. He wanted to say something about her horse when he noticed the village up ahead.

"Isn't that the village we are to stop in?" He questioned, silently thanking the lord for being able to divert her attention. "Yes, that's the village. I used to go there when I had the time." With a grin she looked at him "Race yah!" and off she was leaving him behind in a trail of dust, it took him only a few seconds to respond, making his large stallion race after her. The stallion was far bigger than her petite mare and soon they were racing right next to each other. She halted however when she neared the village, her hand covering her open mouth as shock covered her features.

From a distance the village had seemed perfectly fine, up close however it was clear that that was not the case. Houses were barricaded and empty, black scorch marks indicated that there had been fires burning, probably homeless people that were looking for some warmth during the cold nights. It looked as if an army had ploughed through it and taken everything that was valuable. A small girl, no older than eight, stuck her head around a corner. Kate dismounted her horse and walked up to her, keeping her hands up in surrender.

"Hey there little girl, what's your name?" The girl seemed to hesitate before answering.

"Kate my lady, I was named after Kate MacNair. My Nanna used to take care of her."

"And where is your nanna now?" The blacksmiths voice was quivering. "Death my lady, she died together with my mum from hunger."

Adhemar watched the scene in anger as he saw Kate her face turn horrified.

"And your father?"

"I do not know him my lady, I live with my neighbor now." The kid seemed embarrassed.

"Can you take us to her?" Adhemar asked. The kid looked at him then turned around and walked through the deserted streets. Not being able to do anything but follow they walked with her until they reached a small house. "Kate where have you been! Oh my lady, I am so sorry if she has been bothering you." The voice belonged to a fragile looking woman with brown hair, who bowed immediately when she spotted them.

"It's no problem, could you tell us what happened here?"

"Of course, it was the taxes my lady. They seemed to get higher every day, most of us couldn't afford it and left, the others that did not pay were hanged. The few that stayed and paid eventually couldn't afford food anymore. I had quite a heritage from my father, but even for me it's become impossible to take care of Kate and my own kids." She waved her arm into the house where four other kids could be spotted.

Kate seemed incapable of responding to that and ran out of the small house, leaving Adhemar standing there awkwardly. "What do you plan to do madam?"

"I am going to leave with my family, I am sorry for Kate, but she isn't my daughter and I need to save my family."

"We'll take her with us." Adhemar looked at Kate startled. "Take her with us?" he inquired.

"Yes, she can become my personal servant at the castle or something like that. I will not let my father be the death of that innocent little girl." The way she stood there in the opening of the door, that defiant look on her face he knew he would not be able to persuade her. He didn't really want to either, the little girl did not deserve to die such a horrifying death. "Okay, we'll take her with us."

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	6. Mr Lord Smokey

**SOooooo sorry for the late update, my laptop crashed and I had exams…so I didn´t really have any time to update. **

Kate was more than happy to go with the "pretty lady" , which she insisted on calling that way. Kate seemed quite embarrassed but took an immediate liking to the upbeat personality of the girl. As she sat in front of Adhemar on his big stallion she kept chatting to them about all the things she saw around them. It was quite a funny sight. Adhemar the big brooding guy on his big stallion with a little brown haired girl in front of him commenting on everything.

They continued on to the lands that Adhemar had wanted to see and they left little Kate alone playing with a little kitten while they talked to the farmers. Adhemar was surprised that Kate knew quite a lot about farming, and the uses for the land. He made a mental note to ask her about that. "Adhemar, Adhemar Adhemar! Look what I found!" Two brilliant green eyes looked up at him while the little girl held up her hands, in them was a small kitten, it couldn't be more than four weeks old. It had its eyes closed and made small whining noises. It was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. It's black fur stuck out at odd angles and it had a hard time trying to stand up. "That's a very sweet kitten." Adhemar said as he knelt down to little Kate her height to pet the little thing. Big Kate watched the scene unfold from afar while she stood there with the owner of the farm. "The kitten she's holding is destined to die. The poor thing is blind, its mother refuses to give it any milk, and I really have no use for a blind cat." The wheels in Kate her head churned as she observed the cute scene of big bad Adhemar petting a small kitten.

"Is there a way for it to be fed without the help of its mother?" Kate asked.

"Yes, you just feed them a bit of milk from a cow till its big enough to eat real food. After that you can just feed them fish or something. I usually give it to kittens when the mother has given birth to so many kittens that she can't feed them all. I just have no use for this one."

"Can I take it with me?"

"Of course my lady! Just make sure it's wrapped up safely so it won't fall from your horse. It needs to stay pretty warm for the next few weeks."

Adhemar rose from his kneeling position. It really was a cute little cat.

"Come on Kate we need to go back to the castle. Put the cat back where you found it."

"But I want to keep Mr. Smokey!" The sparkling green eyes became glazed with tears as the small girl looked up at him.

"You can keep Mr. Smokey Kate, but we need to wrap him up safely so he will not fall from the horses. Mr. Smokey can't see, so he needs to be handled very carefully. Can you do that?" The melodious voice from Kate came from behind him. The cat couldn't see? So that's why he hadn't opened its eyes.

The journey back to the castle was filled with chatter from little Kate while the other two sometimes commented on what she said. When they arrived at the castle they got some odd stares as they entered with the little girl in tow. "Let's get you bathed shall we?" As Kate picked up the little girl and took her inside while the girl carefully petted her new friend. The surroundings were entirely new for the little girl so she only hugged Mr. Smokey closer to her body while she looked at the large paintings in the hall ways and the thick stone walls.

The big bathtub filled up with grime as Kate scrubbed little Kate clean. The hair which she had first assumed was dark brown, turned out to be a few shades lighter and curled beautifully when it dried up. She had a fair white skin with only a few minor scratches and bruises. She was all in all a stunning little girl. While little Kate dried off, Kate herself looked through her old clothes to see if she still had something from when she was younger. In the end she found a small red dress with black frills at the bottom. "You look like a little Lady now Kate." She told the little girl.

Not being used to this royal treatment little Kate only blushed and twirled her pretty new dress. Chaucer looked at the scene with merit in his eyes. The little girl was almost a little replica of big Kate. They could have been family if you didn't know better. "Well well Kate looks like we have a new Lady in the castle. Could you please introduce me to this fair young maiden." Chaucer said starteling both girls.

"But of course Mr. Chaucer. May I introduce you to Little Lady Kate." Kate said playing along with the game.

"Well the pleasure is all mine little Lady." He said as he made a grand bow and kissed the back of the little girls hand. Her big green eyes were wide open with surprise and wonder, and Kate could almost see the little girl fall in love with Geoff. He really knew how to charm every woman.

"Do you want to see my new Cat?" She asked as she already dragged him to the little bundle of fluff on the big bed.

"Why of course my dear Lady, tell me whats his name?"

"Mr. Lord Smokey!" She introduced the cat proudly.

Kate just smiled, the castle had just become a much more loveable place.

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	7. I m not cute

**Considering my exams are over I can update a bit more frequently I hope…and I hope I will not hit a writers block :P**

The original idea was to educate little Kate to become a maid or something in the castle, but the more time Kate spend with the small but very energetic girl the less she wanted that. One of her biggest regrets in her life was the fact that she never had any children. She was by no means too old to have any herself, but the chances for her to get married again were very slim. Little Kate was a smart girl for her age, caring, considerate and she had in no time all the guards wrapped around her finger. Already was she carried on their shoulders when her father or sister weren't around. The maids gave her little snacks whenever she visited the kitchen, exclaiming she was too thin.

The only people Kate hadn't met were Kate her father and sister. The little girl did not need to be humiliated and insulted by them so Kate kept her away from them. Unfortunately fate had other plans. Of all the people in the castle Little Kate had taken an enormous liking to Adhemar. It was such a funny sight when she hugged him or crawled into his lap when he was working. The first time it happened Kate had to look as menacing as she could to keep Roland, Watt and Will from laughing. Jocelyn just cooed at the cute sight. Little Kate enjoyed Adhemars company and strangely enough he liked hers. So when she discovered a beautifully coloured beetle she decided she would show it to him.

She found him In the library, unfortunately he wasn't alone. Without thinking about it she ran to him and opened up her little fists showing her find. "What is that?" a sneering voice came from behind her. She looked up at the fearsome lady in front of her. She was quite ugly and reminded Kate of a pig. She was raised however to always be polite, and judging by the dress the lady was royalty. "My lady." She said making a little bow.

"Adhemar who is this?" The woman didn't even acknowledge her bow.

Without a warning she was lifted up by Adhemar and placed in his lap.

"This is my daughter, Kate of Anjou. Kate meet Lady Arianna." The little pinch in her side told her to keep quiet.

"A daughter Adhemar? And please tell me where did this _girl_ so suddenly come from?"  
"She is the daughter of a deceased friend of mine, and she arrived here a few days ago. I adopted her. She is family in everything but blood. I expect she shall be treated as my daughter." The steel in his voice made the discussion final and with that he rose from his chair and walked out of the library with Little Kate in his arms.

He found Kate lounging underneath a few trees outside near the pond. She rose when she saw Adhemar with little Kate in his arms. "We have a problem." He said putting little Kate down. "Kate can you please go to the stables. I believe Geoff has something for you." With the dismissal of the older woman Kate ran away to the stables, knowing that she couldn't stay with them for the moment.

"What is the problem?"

"Little Kate is the problem. I just adopted her!"

"You did WHAT!"

"She ran in while I was conversing with your sister. What was I supposed to do? Feed her to her, you know she would have been kicked out before you could say Arianna."

"Yes she would have, but what now. You adopted her without thinking. The girl is confused enough without that happening." Kate let herself fall back on the spot she had been sitting.

"I know I did not think! But for heaven sake woman do not act like I do not care for the girl!" He was pacing now in front of her. All of a sudden he was pulled from his pacing by a giggle, followed rich laughter.

"Pray do tell me what's so funny?" the corners of his mouth turned up a bit at the sight before him. Kate was laughing loudly clutching her sides, nearly falling off the bench. A few hairs had escaped her braid and he was itching to sweep them back behind her ears.

"You are count Adhemar. You act so strong and toughand sly and cunning, but when it comes to a small girl of no older than nine she has you wrapped around her fingers in less than a day." She wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. "It's cute."

"I'm not cute woman!" He grumbled and sat down next to her, but the seriousness of it all was taken away by the small smile on his face. Perhaps It was cute, but only a very very little bit.


	8. Teaching add and subtract

**AN: sorry for the very late update but my writers block seemed like a titanium wall.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

After the scene by the pond things turned back to normal. The only difference was little Kate. She was now Lady Kate of Anjou and therefore needed to learn how to be a lady. Instead of spending her days outside with the horses or playing with William or Geoff, she was now taught how to read and write. She learned how to walk, how to eat and how to talk ladylike. She turned out to be quite smart, and took to writing and reading like a fish in the water. It might have helped that Geoff helped her with those subjects. The etiquette codes however were far less fun, and more than once she was dragged into the castle by her teacher. Kate felt sorry for the little girl. After living away from the castle for so many years she found the rules sometimes just as stifling as little Kate found them.

It was just a little after dinner when Kate went looking for the little girl. She needed her sleep these days, she wasn't allowed to sleep in and therefore needed to go to bed a little earlier. After an hour she still hadn't found her and she started to get worried. Little Kate knew she wasn't allowed out of the castle when it got dark, but the girl had more than once broken a rule when she wanted something.

"Ahum, Lady Kate?" a voice said behind her. She twirled around, coming face to face with Germaine.

"Oh Germaine it's you, you scared me. Can I help you with something?" She tried to get her breathing back to her its pace while she brushed some imaginary dust specks of her dress.

"I believe you are looking for Little Lady Kate?" he said, a soft smile on his quite handsome face. He really liked Lady Kate, as a friend mind you, she always was up for a good conversation and never made him feel like a servant.

"Yes, do you know where she is?" The relief was evident in her voice as she realised that the little girl had indeed stayed in the castle.

"I do actually, she is with Count Adhemar. He was teaching her how to add and subtract numbers. She is a very smart girl, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. What do you mean he _was_ teaching her?"

"You can come see for yourself, please do stay quiet though." They had reached the door of Adhemar is private rooms and he slowly turned the brass handle on the door. Trying to be as quiet as possible Kate tiptoed into the room. She pressed her hand against her mouth to keep from laughing as she took in the sight before her. There on the bed were Adhemar and Little Kate both fast asleep. He had been sitting with his back against the headboard and during his sleep had slowly been moving in a more slouching position. Little Kate had her head lying on his stomach and was curled up against him. A few pieces of parchment were lying around them, some with fold in them from being slept on. When she looked back into Adhemar his face she was suddenly starring into a pair of green eyes. They were still a bit foggy from being woken up but they cleared up fast enough when he realized who was in the room with him. As he moved to get off the bed he realized she was not the only Kate in the room.

"You were right Adhemar, you are so not cute." Kate said trying to keep from laughing out loud fearing she would wake up the little girl.

"Oh do shut up and help me get her of me so she can be moved to her own room." He answered, trying to convey in his glare just how cute he was.

"Aye Aye Captain." She said as she moved to the other side of the bed carefully lifting up the petite girl. She weighed next to nothing, but it was still a lot more than when she arrived at the castle. Kate was happy to see that when she washed the little girl that she had stopped looking emaciated. She still was a little light for her age, but at least her ribs weren't visible anymore.

With slow and even steps she carried the girl to her own room and proceeded to tuck her in properly. It was a testimony of just how taxing her lessons were that she slept through the entire thing.

Adhemar wathed the whole scene, and when the girl was finally tucked in brushed some strands of hair from her face and bid her a good night before closing the door behind him and Kate. The sound of thunder mad him jump, he hadn't realized it had been raining. "Warm milk?" Kate asked sensing his discomfort. "That sounds like a good idea."

**AN: Sorry for cutting it short here, but it's 1:25 AM around here and my dad will kill me if he finds me on the laptop this late. Read and review please…..I will try to add another chap soon.**


	9. Commiting the oldest sinns

**AN here is the new chapter, I wanted to add the piece about the free companies because Adhemar just sounded so evil there, and Kate would never like him if he was like that. **

Slow swirls of steam rose from the cup in his hands as he watched her poor another one for herself. The firelight made her face have a golden glow and as he traced the rest of her figure with his eyes he could see the muscles in her arms move underneath the fabric of her dress. She looked so small and fragile. How deceptive.

"I have a question for you Adhemar." Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"And what would that question be then?"

"When you came back to fight tournaments again, Geoff told us it was because the Prince had disbanded the free companies for bad behaviour. Is that true?"

He almost laughed for her use of bad. If only she understood the horrors he had seen. "It's true, but it's the Prince his own fault."

"How so? You are the leader, shouldn't you make sure your men behaved?"

"My men did behave!" he snapped. "The army had taken a tremendous hit near Greece, nearly half of the free companies were either dead, wounded or had deserted." He sighed.

"I asked the Prince for money so I could reinforce the army before another attack would take place, the whole army would be destroyed if that happened. The prince refused. So with my own money I hired mercenaries. They are a ruthless bunch. Money and pleasure are all they care about. I payed them to fight the enemy when they attacked, I had however no say in what they did off the battlefield. I couldn't send my men out to stop them. An army divided is an army lost. The Prince was angry and disbanded the Free companies."

"I'm sorry Adhemar. I should have known better, but Will and Geoff…."

"Those goons you call friends have no idea what they are talking about. They laugh and joke and joust, but they have never seen a real battlefield." He put his cup down, th last bit of milk and honey had cooled off and Kate filled it again.

"I know, Will is a brave man with the heart of a knight, but he cannot grasp the idea of true war." The words were spoken with such conviction that he couldn't help but wonder.

"And you can?"

"As a female ferris you do not get a lot of job offers. I ended up near a battle and travelled along the army for a while, repairing shields and armouring horses. I've seen what comes back after a battle. Sometimes I still hear the screams in my nightmares. After that I vowed never to work there again, they are desperate and do not look down at me for that reason, but it just wasn't worth it. Not every man that goes to battle is a saint, and I am lucky that I know how to use a hammer, some of the other females weren't so lucky."

"If it is any consolation I never had a woman without her being willing." He found it a bit strange talking about this with her. She was female for gods sake.

"I have no doubt about that, after all who can resist the dark and handsome count of Anjou." She joked trying to lighten the mood.

"So you think I am handsome Kate?" he teased back.

She didn't know whether it was the fire or something else that made his eyes light up like that, she did know however that the room had heated up a little.

"It's called sarcasm Adhmar, have you been hit with a lance a little too often for you to realize that?"

He smiled "Oh but every joke holds a bit of truth Kate, you know that.."

"Yes I know that, and you are right my joke did hold some thruth. You are dark are you not?" and with those words she slipped past him over to the door. "Goodnight Count Adhemar, sweet dreams."

She nearly ran to her room where she swiftly closed the door behind her. She placed her hand on her chest where her heart was beating rapidly. He had been standing so close to her in the kitchen. What was she doing? He was going to marry her sister! She blew out the candle next to her bed and crawled underneath the blankets. Before she drifted off she heard the rumbling of the thunder and smiled.

**Short I know but I have to get to work. Hope you like it…read and review please!**


	10. Contempt and respect

**AN: A little thanks to thom phan for getting my attention to this story. I've been a bit caught up with work and my Suits stories that I kind of forgot about this one.**

William watched as Adhemar played with little Kate across the garden, throwing her in the air, twirling her around, making her laugh. The image just didn't really fit with the idea of the Adhemar he knew, the Adhemar that had him locked up, that beat him, who hated him with a vengeance. Something was wrong and William was going to find out. He hadn't really spoken the man during his stay at the castle, but the way Kate and little Kate spoke of him showed that the count had wormed his way behind their defences. Adhemar was a jerk and nothing more than that.

William didn't think any more of it until he spotted the older man leaving the little girl her room after putting her to bed.

"Adhemar, let's have a talk you and I." The glare he got as a response told him that at least their "relationship" hadn't changed.

"What do you want William?"

"I want to know why you feel the need to misguide my friends with that sweet act you put on."

"Misguide your friends? I was under the impression Kate was actually the smart one of your lot." He let out a bark of laughter " And it's no act, just the fact that I can't stand you doesn't mean I need to hate my sister in law."

"Come of it Adhemar, there is not a genuinely kind bone in your body!" That was the wrong thing to say cause all of a sudden William found himself pressed against the wall with the older man his hand against his throat.

"Do not, for just one moment try to comprehend in that small brain of yours who I am. You do not know anything. Tell me William have you heard your own men scream in agony while they fall down beside you in battle. Have you seen children and women being molested while you could do nothing to stop it. Have you had your own father beat the life out of you because your brother did something better than you even though he was younger! You come here whining about your difficult life while you have a father who loves you, an alliance with the Prince and a wife that adores you! Do not for just a moment try to comprehend my life, because you would fail miserably at it." With a last hard push against William his throat Adhemar let him go and stormed down the hall.

William just gasped for air while trying to catalogue the new information and match it with the previous idea of Adhemar. Neither men noticed a swirl of green robes of a person walking away from the corner of the hall way.

Adhemar his fist hurt from punching the wall one to many times. He had not meant for that idiot of a thatcher to hear about the failure that was his life. Why couldn´t things just go right for once? A knock made him look up from where he was lying on the bed. "Come in."

"Sir, Lady Kate asked me to bring you this…she also added a note." Germaine placed the tray near the bed and left the room swiftly after bowing.

'_This always made me feel better whenever I had a row with my father.' _ The handwriting was neat and elegant, so very Kate. On the tray there was an assembly of cookies and her own special milk. While Adhemar realised that she had probably heard the argument between him and William he didn't particularly care. He was quite touched she would sent him something to brighten his mood. She truly was a strange person.

Breakfast the next day was a silent affair. William was still nursing a sore throat and was reduced to liquids and no talking, while Jocelyn rubbed his back to get some of the tension to leave. Watt and Roland weren´t present, the drinking party of the previous night keeping them bedridden, which took away the sound of loud banter. The slamming of the door therefore made everyone jump drawing the attention to little Kate who came rushing in.

"Mr Lord Smokey is sick." The small girl cried as she threw herself in Kate her waiting arms.

"Shhh, what do you mean the cat is sick?" She patted the small child, hoping the hiccups would stop.

"He's…coughing…and shivering….and he doesn't want to play…" The girl managed to say between sniffles and hiccups.

"WHATS THE MEANING OF THIS." Ian yelled, finally gaining his bearing after the impromptu entrance of little Kate.

"That's the girl I told you about daddy, the adopted whench." Arianna whined pitifully, gaining a glare from most of the people in the room. Little Kate had everyone wrapped around her finger.

"Is this true Adhemar? I would have expected a child of your line to behave a bit better than that." The vile look he threw the small child made her try to become even smaller in Kate her arms.

"She is just a child! You can't expect her to behave like an adult!" Kate her glare would have made lesser men cower.

"If I remember correctly Arianna never whined or screamed at the table. Nor did you for that matter. I know how to raise children you old spinster, and this is still my castle so you should show me some respect."

"Arianna couldn't whine because she always has her mouth stuffed with food! And I never whined because you hit me every time I did! You want some respect? You deserve nothing but contempt, I am the only reason Edward isn't knocking at your gates right now. I deserve your respect if anything!" Kate had handed the little girl to Adhemar and was now eye to eye with her father, yelling at his face. She wanted to throw years of abuse and hatred in his face so badly, but a small whimper made her realise that little Kate did not need to see that.

She turned around with a huff and picked up the whimpering girl. "I do not think I will be present at dinner tonight." And with those last words she left the dining room.

**AN: I hope I will be able to post a new chapter soon : )**


	11. So much in common

**AN: Well here is the nest chapter.**

The clouds just seemed to break all of a sudden that night, making large droplets of rain fall on anyone who dared to venture outside. Kate didn't mind it. The forge kept her warm and the rain was a pleasant company to her mood, for once god seemed to agree with her. All her anger and frustration were vented on the innocent iron, that slowly formed into horse shoes.

"Should have known I could find you here." Adhemar his voice interrupted her lonely thoughts. "Blasted rain caught me by surprise, I've been looking for you for over an hour you know."

For a moment Kate was transfixed by the small droplets that hung from his curls and trailed a path down his face down his neck and into his shirt, but she soon caught herself.

"I needed to vent some steam, why were you looking for me anyway?"

"Little Kate had been asking after you, she's worried."

"The cat has a cold, all we can do is keep him close to the fire and try to make him eat something. I already told her that and she was calm when I left her in her room."

"She isn't worried about the cat Kate, she is worried about you." That finally caught her attention.

"There is nothing wrong with me, she has nothing to worry about."

"Is that why you are here in the forge in the middle of the night making horse shoes?" He tried to make her look him in the eye, people never were capable of lying to him when they looked straight at him.

"It's normal for people to be angry once in a while Adhemar, therefore nothing is wrong with me." Her defiant blazing eyes made his stomach jolt in an unfamiliar, yet nice, way. He knew this wasn't working so he decided to go for another tactic. Talking. He hated that tactic, he wasn't great with words and women often saw the need to throw hissy fits over the smallest things, but Kate wasn't just any woman and she had sent him milk and cookies for crying out loud.

"Tell me about your youth…you were close to your mum weren't you?" She put down the hammer and stood next to him, both leaning on the working bench behind them next to the fire.

"My life was nothing different from other first born girls, after my mother was declared barren after my sister he became more cruel and viscious than ever before. Not to Arianna mind you, she was only the second in line and therefore not really that important. My father however could not get over the fact that it was my fault I wasn't male. My mother tried to make up for the love that my father never gave to me. She would take me horse riding, meet the farmers that worked the land, held me every night I cried because I had once again did something father wasn't pleased with. It took me years to realize that I could never please that man. When I was sixteen I met my husband, god bless him, right here in this forge, we ran away together….and when he died I ended up traveling with the tournaments for work, which is how I met Will." The smile on her face when she spoke about her mother and Will was such a vast contradiction to the one she wore when she talked about her father.

"Tell me about yours. What was your mum like?" Nudging him in the side to get back his attention, that seemed to be focussed on the fire.

"I never knew my mum, she died when I was born. Though it wouldn't have been uncommon for my father to remarry he never did. He had a son, and while he hated me for the death of his wife, he had no real need for another child. He did like the willing ladies in the village though. When I was about eight years old I got ill, to the point that they feared for my life. I spent almost a year in bed and during that time one of my fathers more steady flings gave birth to a baby boy. My father feared he might not have a successor when he died, so he claimed the boy as his own. I never really saw him till he turned six, by that time I was almost fifteen and as you can see I survived the disease. Marcus was a prodigy at everything he did, which angered my father of course. I was of pure noble blood and I failed to surpass my half-blood brother. Marcus and I however got along pretty well, and my father changed his tune a little after my little brother ran away with a maid from the castle." They both shared a chuckle over that.

"It seems we have more in common than we thought…"

"That we do." He agreed.

The firelight caused a warm glow on their surroundings as the listened to pitter patter of the rain on the roof. The silence wasn't the usual uncomfortable one, the ones that Kate always wanted to fill up with words, but one of companionship. Suddenly the fatigue set in as she realized just exactly how late it was.

"Come on, help me put out the fire." She grabbed the two buckets of sand near the door and handed one to Adhemar. Throwing them over the fire at the same time.

"BLAST!" he yelled as a few pieces of still burning coals hit his leg, making the fabric catch fire. Within a flash Kate had pushed him out of the forge into the rain outside. Hopping on his other leg, he cursed god and all other things holy trying to keep from screaming too loud.

"Stay still for a second and let me take a look at it!" Kate ordered the cursing man, if he wasn't in pain so much the scene would have been comical. The fabric had pretty much burned away leaving an ugly burn on his skin. "Well besides some scarring, I don't think you'll have any permanent damage. We do need to get you inside though, if it gets infected you have a far bigger problem than the pain."

The walk to the castle its main building and up the stairs went slow and not without some cursing.

"Damnit woman, are you trying to make the wound even bigger by pulling on me like that!"

"Well if you just went a bit faster I didn't have to pull you and you would be in your bed by now." She snapped back.

"I don't need to end up in my bed with my leg torn apart you know, that's why I am going slow! So don't be so bloody impatient."

"Oh you big baby, I've seen children with bigger wounds that behaved better than you. And don't call me impatient or I'll drop you down the stairs and go to bed myself." That shut him up. Once they finally reached the landing Kate motioned for the maid that had come to look what all the noise was about to get Germaine. "Tell him Adhemar need him and please fetch me a cloth, warm water and some bandages."

"Will do my lady."

"Please woman, all I need is my bed. I do not need you to mother me."

"Well I do not need to have my sister bawling her eyes out for the next few days because you got a fever and will not be ready for the wedding. Don't think I'm doing this just for you."

"How very evil of you, tell me are you always this selfish?"

"Only with big jerks like you. Now lean against the wall for a second while I open up the door." Adhemar didn't have much choice in the matter as he was pushed against the wall anyway. When he was finally on his bed the damage was much better visible thanks to the candles next to it. The skin was red, and at some spots the burning had made some of the skin come off.

"My Lord, what on earth has happened to you?" Germaine exclaimed as he took note of the wound.

"A few coal from a fire is what happened." Adhemar replied with a sour face.

" Oh quit being a big baby, Germain would you please hand me the pillow from that side of the bed. I need the leg elevated so I can wrap the bandages around it properly. You need to lose the trousers Adhemar, I can't bandage you when all that fabric is in the way." Both men looked at her appalled.

"No offence Kate, but taking of my pants in front of a Lady isn't exactly good for her reputation."

"Then it's a good thing I was also a married blacksmith. You have nothing I haven't seen before." She huffed. With a bit of reluctance Adhemar took of his pants. Kate forced herself not to blush, her husband had died almost eight years ago and here was one fine male specimen.

The bandaging went pretty well, with some occasional hiss from the older man when she cleaned his wound and applied a little pressure to make sure the wrapping was tight and secure.

The sunlight of the early morning was already lighting up the rooms when Kate finally found her bed. Without even taking of her dress she crawled into the warm cocoon of blankets and fell asleep, dreaming of strong thighs and sparkling green eyes.

**Hope you guys like it :D, please review. **


	12. The whore of the castle

**An: I am so happy with all the great responses I got for this story! Really your reviews are appreciated and they truly are inspirational :-), please keep them coming :D**

Kate her precious sleep was disrupted way too soon for her liking as a furious Arianna entered her bedroom, slamming the door in the process.

"You…You….HUSSY!" her sister yelled at her, her auburn tresses in disarray and her hair an ugly near fuchsia colour.

"What?" Kate moaned, already wishing for sleep to return so she could go back to the strong arms that had held her in her dreams. Once she realized she was fantasizing about her sisters fiancé with her sister in the room even, she was wide awake.

"I went to my fiancés room this morning, only to be banned from it by that servant of his! Do you know what he told me!"

"What?" the older girl cursed herself for that very bad comeback, though it seemed that Arianna was in a full blown rant and wouldn't have even heard it if Kate had told her she had screwed Adhemar his brains out, now that created a lovely picture…turning her attention back to her sister quickly Kate tried to figure out why her sister had called her a whore.

"He told me that I could not see him because he had not come back in until late and had been injured severely. When I asked him if he needed treatment he told me you had brought him in and also had treated his LEG injury! I don't know what you picked up with those peasants that you call friends, but it isn't appropriate for a Lady to do that. Especially when that man is my fiancé!"

"Worried he might have doubts about marrying you?" Kate asked her sister with a smug smile, oh how good it felt to rile her up.

"Absolutely not, I am irresistible to a man of such good taste as Adhemar. I do not want rumours however about the whorish ways of my sister, it could tarnish _my_ reputation. Considering you treated him, will he be permanently damaged? He does need to walk during the wedding you know."

"He will be able to walk, he will just have some scarring on his upper leg. Now could you please leave, so I can get ready for the day." A fury rose in her chest as she saw Arianna look sickened at the thought of the scar tissue, like she was such a catch. Kate always found scars added something to a man's character. She also knew Adhemar had more scars than just that recent run in with the fire, he had been the leader of the free companies for Christs sake. No one left the battlefield unscratched.

Little Kate was already wrapped up with Geoff in her reading and writing lessons, so after grabbing some food from the kitchen she went to check on Adhemar. He was sitting up in bed reading through some files when she entered the room. His hair was still tousled from sleep, and he was wearing a thin shirt that gave her a clear image of just exactly how much muscle there was underneath all his clothes.

"How are you? The leg bothering you much?" She asked sitting down at the end of the bed.

"I'm fine, it just hurts when I move too much. I've had worse." He shrugged picking up another paper and after a quick scan placed it on a pile on his left.

"What are you up to?" She picked a grape from the tray he had near his bed.

"I'm dividing your family its land into various piles, each representing the amount of work that needs to be done to get the fields on it up and working again. "This one" he pointed to the largest pile "represents the worst cases."

"My father isn't death yet, it will be a while before you are allowed to make decisions."

"Ah, so your father hasn't told you? Prince Edward is forcing him to step down once I marry his daughter and become a rightful heir." They spent a few minutes in silence both leafing through the many papers.

"It's a good thing you have a good excuse for staying in bed with all this dreadful rain don't you think my lord..? Oh Lady Kate I didn't see you there.." Germaine interrupted them, faltering when he spotted the woman on the bed.

"What do you mean a good excuse?" Kate asked looking at both men, trying to figure out what Germaine meant.

Adhemar heaved a sigh "You might as well tell her now Germaine." The man in question let out a small breath, he had been afraid the older man would have been angry at him for accidently letting it slip.

"A few years ago Adhemar took a bad hit to his other leg, I thought we had lost him when we found him on the battlefield surrounded by so much blood. I swear you could see the bone where the sword had hit him. Miraculously his leg healed, the only problem is that with whether as cold and harsh as this the muscles just seem to cramp up. Dreadfully painful, and walking around during these days is quite a chore for him. So having an excuse like this helps him from having to make it more painful than it already is." Adhemar looked uncomfortable with the subject and Germaine his obvious emotional response to the thought of actually losing Adhemar. From what Kate had learned during her long talks with Germaine the two were pretty good friends.

"My husband had the same thing, only with him it was his hand. He had broken it during a bar fight, it healed pretty well, but during very cold days he would always clench his hands until he could warm it up again. He was lucky that he worked in a forge of all places. Outside of it I always found that massaging the muscles made it a lot easier to bear for him. Did you ever try that?"

"Oh no, Adhemar is far too stubborn to even admit something is wrong, let alone let someone help him." Kate had to cover up a giggle at the motherly tone Germaine used and the petulant look on Adhemars face.

"Well I know now, so let me help." For the second time both men looked at her like she was crazy.

"Come on, I can help. I would hate it if you don't let me help while I know I can do something about the pain." The challenging look made it clear that she would not be argued with.

Her strong demeanour however soon changed when she got a good look at the leg. Adhemar immediately made a move to place the blankets back on it but she stopped him. Yesterday she had been too preoccupied with the wound on the other leg to look at this one. There was a large scar that ran almost from the top of his hip to his knee. It was jagged and stood out clearly from the rest of his toned leg. It almost looked as if someone had placed a strip of the skin of an old man on his leg. She could understand why he'd rather not walk if he experienced pain from it, his entire upper leg had to be tense and painful.

"Germaine could you please put another log on the fire and get a little green bottle from my nightstand." Within seconds he returned clutching the requested item. Adhemar kept busy with the papers, trying to take his mind off the beautiful female that was sitting next to him, about to massage his leg.

Kate squirted a little bit of homemade hand lotion from the bottle onto her hands, rubbing them together to make the liquid a little warmer before starting on the man his leg. He really was tense, every muscle seemed to be resisting any movement. After nearly fifteen minutes of massaging the leg she felt the muscles loosen up properly.

Germaine had stayed by the fire, writing in a little notebook and occasionally looking over at the couple on the bed. He knew that while Adhemar had plenty of woman to entertain himself with he always made sure they didn't see or touch that particular scar. It was a miracle when Germaine was allowed to treat the worst of pains, yet here was a once hated female rubbing ointment on his leg. She had hardly flinched when she saw the scar! Germaine didn't need to ask whether it was helping or not, the older man his face was enough testimony. Gone were the tension lines around his eyes and lips from trying to ignore the pain, gone was the tense position. It left a thoroughly relaxed and younger looking man in its wake. Kate may not realize it yet, but she had gained a very special place in Adhemar his heart, of that Germaine was sure. Now all he had to do was stop the wedding between him and that blasted pig.


	13. A kiss form the saviour

The castle was alive with gossip. Every maid, help and guard knew about the budding friendship between Kate and Adhemar and they all had various opinions on the matter. While the nobility was blissfully unaware the maids placed bets on when Adhemar would finally realize exactly who was right for him, while the guards placed bets on exactly when he would shag Kate. Germaine was revered throughout the castle because he was able to get close to the both of them, and therefore had the juiciest gossip. The story of Kate massaging Adhemar his leg had the maids swooning and the guards jealous. Though the opinions were different amongst the working staff everyone agreed that Arianna was devils spawn, which made Ian the devil himself. Late at night when the duties were finished for the day, people came together to discuss on how to remove the devil and his daughter from the castle and the lands. The return of Kate gave the people some resemblance of hope, that maybe they could actually make a change to the terrible ruling of her father.

During these meetings Germaine had gotten very fond of a woman named Ally, she was a petite woman with a kind spirit. She had grown up with Kate and had missed her terribly during her absence. The fair red head had a lot of information about Kate her father, at first she had been reluctant to tell Germaine as it had not been a pleasant experience for her to find out about the information. Though it was common to sleep with the household its staff, Ian McNair made a sport out of it. Most females in the castle had been more than once abused by the man, including Ally. It had ruined her chances for marriage as she wasn´t "pure" anymore, no man would marry a defiled woman. It boggled Germaine's mind when he realized exactly how bad the man treated his people. Adhemar was not always a pleasant man to be around, but he would never mistreat his people. He was often strict but fair, allowing a little more from Germaine as they were friends.

Together with Ally he concocted a plan to at least postpone the wedding a couple of weeks. With the rate Kate and Adhemar were moving it would be enough time to make them realize they were perfect for each other. For the plan they needed the help of Geoffrey and Will, but Germaine doubted whether the two males would want to help Adhemar in any kind of way. Geoffrey however had been very understanding of the situation, and reluctantly Will agreed to it for Kate her sake.

The plan was fairly easy: Will would request Prince Edward to come to the castle for the wedding to make sure the transitioning of the land to Adhemar would be sped up. They would plead to Edward for it to help the people that were currently living in a tyranny, and for him to understand that despite the contract between Ian and Edward, Ian would not give up his land willingly. Prince Edward was currently residing in the south of France and it would take him at least a month to get to Scotland. Which meant the wedding had to be postponed, or they might risk the anger of the person they were so desperately trying to please with the wedding. As the messenger pigeon flew off Germaine congratulated himself on a job well done.

"You wished to see me?" Kate asked her father as she entered the dining room.

"You know exactly what this is about don't you." He sneered at her walking up to her.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about. If this has something to do with Little Kate her lessons…." He cut her off with a slap to the face.

"This has nothing to do with that little brat that Adhemar calls his daughter. You were the one who wrote to him didn't you? You were the one who planted the idea in his head that he should be there at the wedding! You were the ungrateful bitch your mother raised you to be!" He was yelling at her now, alerting the attention of one of the maids in the hall. An angry Ian McNair could never be a good thing, with a flurry of her skirts she took off to find someone that could stop him before he went too far.

"I do not know what you are talking about, but never ever talk about my mother in that way!" She raised her chin up a little and stared back at the man defiantly. He was not that much taller than her, but he easily out ran her when it came to his weight. She didn't expect him to hit her in the stomach though, pushing all the air out of her making her crumble to the floor.

"I'm talking about your little letter to Prince Edward telling him to come to the wedding! Who else would be stupid enough to invite him. Now we have to wait another month before Arianna can wed." every word was synchronised with a blow from his foot against her stomach, back and legs. With the last word he kicked her against the head, making her world swirl around in colours as she tried to keep her grasp on consciousness. She saw the foot in front of her face pull back again; in self-defence she raised her arms to protect her head from more damage. The blow however never came. A mob of black curls and dark clothing was all she remembered before she passed out.

"I should have never send it…it's all my fault….if only I have thought it through.." Kate tried to place the voice but the pounding head ache made it hard for her to think properly.

"You weren't the only one to blame Germaine, Will and I both helped send that letter. You couldn't know he would lash out like this." Geoff, it registered in her mind.

"I still don't understand why in the gods name you wanted to post-pone the wedding!" Adhemar, she just couldn't understand what they all were talking about. She tried to open her eyes, her eyelids felt so heavy. What had happened? Then she remembered, her father had been angry. Something about prince Edward coming to the wedding, making Arianna wait for another month. Now she understood why her head felt like it was splitting in two. She let out a soft moan.

A chorus of Kate reverberated throughout the room as she finally managed to open her eyes. She was in her own bed, Adhemar was sitting next to her with Geoff , Germaine and William in the corner looking very much like chastised schoolchildren. "Whatever you guys did, I am not pleased with it." She tried to shoot them a glare, but winched at the pain that came with creasing her forehead. Gingerly she touched the offending area, feeling a small cut and a large swelling.

"Kate please understand we only did in your best interest…" William trailed off at the look she gave him.

"You must really hate me then, if this is your best interest. Please leave you three I'm not ready to deal with you guys."

"But Kate!" Geoff quickly shut up after the warning Adhemar threw him and pulled William with him out of the room.

"I did not see this coming my lady, if I had I would have never let it happen." Germaine muttered before trailing after the other men.

"How are you feeling?" Adhemar asked now they finally were alone.

"Like a horse decided to tap dance on my body, what did the surgeon say?"

"Well you have two cracked ribs, various bruises on your legs that will give you hell and of course that bump on your forehead. He didn't thing you have a concussion, but you will have to take it easy for the next two weeks. If you move too much with those ribs they might break and puncture one of your lungs." Adhemar reached out next to the bed, and placed a cold cloth on her forehead which made Kate feel some relief of the pounding in her head.

"Thank you, how is little Kate doing? And what did those three idiots do exactly?"

"Little Kate is fine, she is worried about you. When the maid came to tell us you were in trouble Kate was there. She didn't see anything though, I told her to stay in the room. As for what the three idiots did; they wrote a letter in Williams name to request Prince Edward to come to the wedding. I have no idea why they would do that, they didn't tell me. You do realize how lucky you are don't you? If I hadn't been there in time…." He trailed off. Kate didn't need him to tell what would have happened. She wouldn't have been here anymore.

"You were on time, I thank you for that Adhemar." She grabbed his hand and sqeezed it softly, her hands seemed to be the only muscles in her body that didn't hurt. She was glad her hands hadn't been broken in any way. A broken hand could have easily meant that she would never be able to work as a blacksmith again.

"I need some sleep."

"I will be back later to see how you are doing." He pressed a small kiss to the inside of her hand and left the room. He had been surprised by his own action. Kate didn't have much time to ponder things as she soon drifted off to sleep, but Adhemar kept replaying that moment over and over again for the rest of the day.

**AN: God I hate that I need to go to work soon : ( **


	14. Not perfect

"My lord?" Adhemar looked up to find a petite redhead standing in front of the desk he was working on.

"Yes what is it?"

"It's Lady Kate, My lord. She refuses my help with bathing and dressing. I'm afraid she might hurt herself if she keeps trying to do everything on her own. I tried to find Sir William but…" She trailed off.

"It's alright, I'll go talk to her." Adhemar answered her, placing some of his papers on the corner of the desk. He turned around when he reached the door and threw a coin at the surprised maid. "You did well coming to get someone, I'm sure Lady Kate did not make things easy for you." The maid blushed prettily and thanked him profusely. Only a minute after Adhemar left Germaine and Geoff came in through another door.

"Did he take the bait Ally?"

"He sure did, he even paid me for my troubles." She gave them a small smile "Do you think Sir William will be angry that I went to Lord Adhemar instead of him?"

"If he is my fair lady, leave him to me." Geoff said giving her a small wink and kissing the back of her hand. He laughed at the herald his face. "Don't worry Germaine, I'm happily married." He left Ally blushing while Germaine sputtered a few weak protests.

Adhemar didn't wait for Kate to give him consent to open the door, she wouldn't give it anyway. What he however didn't expect was for her to be in just her chemise that was halfway down her chest. His shocked intake of breath made her aware of another present in the room, and he was eternally grateful she wasn't facing him, so she could at least not insult him for being a peeping tom.

"ADHEMAR!" She exclaimed trying to hide herself with her arms while throwing him a contemptuous look over her shoulder.

"Kate, I'm sorry, your maid said you refused any help and asked me to…."

"TO WHAT? HELP ME UNDRESS? HELP ME TAKE A BATH?" She was screaming at him but soon regretted it as the pain in her chest flared up from jostling her ribs too much.

"NO! To talk to you, as you clearly refused to listen! For gods sake get back into bed. Remember the surgeon his orders, moving to much can damage your lungs." Kate mumbled something in reply.

"What was that?"

"I said….I can't get my shift back on, it hurts too much." All annoyance at the stubborn disappeared as he exactly realised in how much pain she was.

"I'll help." At her raised eyebrow he added " I will not look, I promise."

"I guess you would probably have knowledge of a woman her chemise." She tried to joke as he neared her.

"I have taken quite a few off actually" he joked back. "This is actually the first time I'm putting one back on." Somehow that information made her heart ache, a feeling she pushed away violently. He was marrying her sister for crying out loud.

Adhemar tried to be a good gentleman and not look at her body, but it was quite difficult to put on the piece of clothing if he couldn't see. After one or two minutes Kate sighed. "Fine you can look, but we never ever talk about this again." Adhemar nodded in response. And they manoeuvred her arms into the shift without moving her around too much. He helped her crawl into bed, tucking her in firmly. "I hope you now understand you need help? You stubborn woman."

"Yes, yes. I just hate to not be able to do things myself you know." She had at least the decency to look abashed.

"I know it's difficult. But they mean no harm, and the more rest you get the sooner you'll be back on your feet."

"I know, I've just never been depending on anyone, this is a first really."

"You were married once, weren't you depending on him?"

"My husband, god bless him, loved me dearly. When we left the castle at sixteen life became harder for us, and he couldn't shoulder the stress without alcohol. He loved me and never put his hands on me, but alcohol left him with terrible hangovers and the fighting that usually broke out in the pub left him with wounds. I did the work around the forge most of the time." It was the first time she had admitted to anyone her marriage had not been perfect. That her husband, the man she had left everything for hadn't been perfect either.

"The worst part is still that I have no children, it's the one regret I have."

"How come you never had children? You were married for a few years weren't you?"

This was the worst part of it all. "I got pregnant a couple of times, but I lost them. I guess I am just not meant to be a mother." She looked away, not being able to bear children was shameful, she wasn't truly a woman.

"Well if you did the heavy work in the forge it is no wonder you lost the children. Pregnant woman need their rest, and keep away from heavy labour. You might still have a chance at children you know."

"Thank you for saying that, but for that I would need a husband and the chances of that happening are even slimmer than me being able to carry a child." The teary eyes, and the way she kept looking away made Adhemar realize she wanted to be alone for a while.

"I'm just going to tell the maid that she can come back in the room without having her head bitten off." He didn't wait for a reply and left the room. While the thoughts of her creamy white skin underneath his fingers while he had dressed her still lingered in his mind, the new information he had gained about her life took up most of his ponderings. He was surprised that after everything that had happened, she was still capable of smiling and surviving in this world. How had Thatcher ever been able to pass up Kate and go for Jocelyn? If he had such an amazing woman within his grasp he would have never ever let her go. So why was he marrying Arianna?

"Are you sure this will work?" The chef nodded his head. "Aye this will work, I've seen more than one cook mistake that herb, it will not kill you but the stomach will not like it either. It will go undetectable in his food." The other man smiled, Ian McNair would figure out exactly how bad things good get when you made your employers angry.

**AN: That last bit was for ****GothChiq80 who gave me this idea :D Thank you for your fateful reviews :D**


	15. The worst apology

"Adhemar!" The man in question turned his head to find one of the biggest torns in his side call his name.

"What do you want Thatcher?" He groused continuing with his stretches.

"You are planning to practice with the sword, are you not?"

"No I'm planning to cut daisies with it, of course I am planning to practice."

Swallowing back the angry retort on the tip of his tongue he tried to remember why he was doing this. _'Because Geoff said you couldn't take the man in a swordfight.'_ His mind supplied. "Why don't we fight each other, not to the death of course."

"Why would I do that Thatcher."

"I thought maybe you'd like a real opponent instead of cutting the air to pieces, but if you are afraid…" He trailed off. It was only now that he realized that Geoff had been baiting him to prove it. _Why would he do that?_

Adhemar fixated his green eyes on the blond man in front of him. He knew that William was a good swordfighter, but the boy had never been to war. He would like the challenge of teaching this hard headed pig exactly where he stood in the world. "Fine meet me out on the field in ten minutes." With those words he stalked away to stretch his muscles a bit more.

"Oh my!" Ally exclaimed looking out of Kate her window.

"What is it?" The injured blacksmith asked from the bed where she had been reading a book.

"It's Sir William and Count Adhemar, it looks like they will be fighting each other." Within a flash the Lady was out of the bed and next to the window. "It doesn't look more like a sparring match really. I don't think this is serious." Kate looked at the two men down below for a few more seconds before replying. "It might not be to the death, but with Will and Adhemar everything is serious."

They circled each other for a little while, trying to see what kind of move their opponent would start with. Finally Adhemar struck, the clanging of iron on iron made Kate cringe. She didn't want any of the two get hurt, but she knew it was unavoidable.

William felt his hands tingle from the hard blows Adhemar unleashed upon him. He was keeping up with the man at the moment, but he knew he would not last much longer. His hands were twitching, and his arms aching. He had not been able to lay a single blow on Adhemar, he was constantly parrying and deflecting. All of a sudden there was an opening Adhemar had raised his sword high to deliver the blow that surely would have meant the end for William, when William took a swipe at his lower legs. Unable to lower his sword fast enough Adhemar moved backwards, making the metal of Williams blade swipe his shin. The colourful curse that left Adhemars mouth would have made a sailor blush. The second that Adhemar was distracted William struck him on the shoulder. William was used to people dropping out right about now. Adhemar might have lain more blows on him, it took a lot of energy keeping up his pace. Expecting defeat from his opponent the blond man lowered his sword. The wrong move. One mighty blow against Will his arm had him falling backwards, without a sword. Adhemar placed the tip of his on the younger man his chest, his face was unreadable.

"I have to apologize for my behaviour at the tournament, you have proven to be quite a fighter." It was too much, William burst out laughing.

"You are apologizing to me while you have the tip of your sword on my heart, you haven't apologized much in your life haven't you?"

Adhemar was about to retract his apology, he did not need to be laughed at when William did something quite strange, he held out his hand. "Help me up Count of Lousy apologies, I accept. Now lets' get a bath because I don't think the ladies will like us smelling like this."

The two men walked back towards the castle and Kate stood up and walked to the door as fast as she could. When Adhemar and Will reached the second floor she just finished going down the stairs.

"Kate you should not be out of your room, and certainly not out of bed. What did I tell you about that you stubborn woman." Adhemar chastised her, she however ignored his words entirely. She walked up to him at quite a pace for someone so gravely injured and hugged him. "thank you." She whispered into his shoulder. Slowly, as if unsure to her reaction, Adhemar wrapped his arms around her. "It was nothing."

Will finally realized why Geoff and Germaine were so certain these two would work out together. He had never heard anyone tell off Kate like that, and he certainly had never seen Adhemar so caring about anyone. He seemed softened somehow. He walked away from the scene, he was off in search for Jocelyn. After witnessing something so sweet, all he wanted to do was go to his own wife and kiss her until there was no tomorrow.

"You should take a shower. You smell." Kate joked when she let go of him.

He raised his eyebrow. "Oh really? I think you quite like the smell of me, you couldn't keep your hands to yourself after all."

She had to repress the urge to blush. "Oh please, like I would ever like the smell of a dead rat." He just grinned and helped her back up the stairs to her room. She had to admit, the smell that came of him was so purely male that she had to supress a small shiver of pleasure. Beneath the sweat there was a hint of parchment, leather and fresh grass. He definitely smelled good. She almost wanted to ask him to stay when he left her in her room to go get a bath and work.

"Adhemar! Adhemar! Come quick!" Adhemar tried to keep from groaning as he heard the grating voice of his fiancé.

"What is it now Arianna?"

"It's Father he is dying!" She was entirely unbalanced he realized as he watched her hop from one foot to the other.

"What do you mean he is dying? Where is he now?"

"He is in his room, and he was in so much pain. Oh what will I do, I can't live on my own. I need my daddy." It seemed that the idea of losing her father had reduced her to a fat crying child. Knowing he wouldn't get a lot of clear information out of her, he ordered her to take him to her. The surgeon was just leaving the room, where a vile stench was coming from, making Adhemar keep his hand in front of his nose.

"What is the problem with him?"

The surgeon took one look at the quivering mess that was Arianna before he looked at him again. "He isn't gravely ill, he just had some food poisoning. It will give him some distress in the bowel region for a day or two, but it's nothing deadly." With a solemn nod of his head he left the two. In her happiness that her father wasn't gravely ill Arianna had thrown herself at Adhemar, who was now trying to get himself out of her vice-like arms.

The surgeon took one look back and shook his head. "Poor man." He muttered.

**AN: Once again a dedication to the ever faithful Gothchiq80 :D **


	16. Self defence rocks

Kate felt herself get stronger every day since her father had attacked her. She still wasn´t exactly in shape to go walk around the castle too much, but she was finally capable of doing most of her dressing and changing herself. After almost two weeks of reduced contact with the world outside she longed to be outside.

"Knock, knock. May we come in?" The whole band of scraggly men that she was a part of entered her room.

"How are you feeling?" Will started, smiling when he got a positive answer from her. The smile was strained though which confirmed Kate her suspicion that they had a reason for coming to her.

"You know we love you, don't you Kate?" Chaucer followed, looking at her with the same face when he had told Will to run.

"You guys cut to the chase. Since when have you even been good at diplomacy?" Watt, who had been stuffing his face with some bread that she hadn´t wanted that morning, choked.

"Listen Kate, Adhemar is getting married in a month, and we have seen how….attached you have gotten to him. We just want to make sure you don't end up getting your heart broken. We don't want to see you like that." Will was trying to be as gentle as het could, but the look on her face said it all. He was just pressing on a point that was already hurting her.

"I am fine guys, I will be perfectly fine. I am happy to have Adhemar as my brother in law." She put up a brave smile, hoping to stop the worrying. She didn't quite succeed, but at least they backed off.

"Okay then, is there anything we can do for you then?"

"I want to go outside, I'm going insane staying inside for so long." Kate moaned, bringing s smile to their faces.

"I am sure that can be arranged my Lady." Will said with an overly pretentious bow and then proceeded to lift her out of the bed.

"Will put me down!" Kate laughed as he proceeded to carry her down the stairs, followed by the two other men. The view got quite a lot of second glances as they proceeded through the castle.

"WHAT IN GODS NAME IS GOING ON HERE!" the merry bantering between the group of friends was interrupted by her father. It was the first time since the accident she was near him and her instinct was telling her to run as far away from the man as she could, but her rebel side refused to do that. Will slowly set her down on her feet, but keeping her near his side in case Ian lashed out. Kate pushed away the hand he placed on her hip and took a few steps forward so she was standing directly in front of her father.

"I was just having some fun with my friends. Is there a problem with that?"

His eyes were blazing "Oh just having some fun weren't you. You probably know how to show them a good time, why else would they have you around." He lowered his head so he could whisper something in her ear "I may have been thwarted last time, but I can assure you _daughter of mine_ that next time I will succeed." With those words he turned around and went back into the room he came from.

Kate let out a shuddering breath and turned around. "Well lets go outside. I can walk myself this time though" she joked as she shoved Will out of the way.

The fresh air felt wonderful on her face and for a moment Kate just enjoyed being there. The silence of the moment however was broken by an enthusiastic "KATE!" being yelled from across the field. The small girl slammed right into Kate, hugging her hips with all her might.

"I missed you" was mumbled into the folds of her dress, touched Kate stroked the smaller girls hair. Not once telling her to let go.

"Kate let her go, you are cutting of the blood flow to her legs." Kate looked up in sparkling green eyes, trying to keep from blushing for some insane reason. She didn't see Adhemar that way. 'Just keep telling yourself that, you might actually start to believe it.' Her mind supplied.

"Sorry Kate." The little girl mumbled, reluctantly letting go of her.

"It's fine darling. What have you been up to all this time?" The little girl started babbling at lightning speed about all her classes and the little horse she was taking care of at the stables.

"….and then Adhemar showed me how you can hurt a man."

"Wait, he did what?" Kate exclaimed, suddenly paying rapt attention.

"He showed me how you can incapa…citate a man." The girl chirped, not understanding what was wrong with it.

"Adhemar…" The low deadly sound of her voice had the boys scrambling, taking the little girl with them. Adhemar wished he hadn't left his sword back at the smiths. A ridiculous notion against such a small and still very much physically disabled woman, but her voice made him feel small. Like a scolded schoolboy who was caught sneaking food from the kitchens.

"You have been teaching the little girl how to hurt people?" still the scary voice.

"I just thought it would be good for her, she might need it later." God this was insane, he was being bullied by a female who was several heads shorter than him.

"You know damn well that this is not something appropriate to teach a lady."

He snorted "And that is coming from a female blacksmith."

"That is entirely different." She huffed.

"How so, if some snooty guy attacks her when she gets older I want her to be able to knock his lights out. No daughter of mine will be bested by someone else."

"Oh have it your way, but you will make it very clear to her that it is only to be used in self-defence. God knows we do not need her to knock out her teacher because she wasn't feeling like going to class."

"Of course not, though I am very sure she could take those annoying teachers of her. I wouldn't mind her kicking that herald of yours around a bit."

"Adhemar!" Kate exclaimed appalled.

"What? I do not like those eyes she makes at him."

"She just has a small crush on him, that doesn't make Geoff the bad guy. He isn't a child molester and he is very happily married. You might want to ease up on your protective side, otherwise you will never survive her teenage years." Kate teased as she walked away from him.

'Oh god.' She heard him groan as he realized exactly how bad things would get when the little girl would grow up. She already showed the signs of becoming a rather stunning girl.

Kate really had missed being outside. Despite her legs protesting the sudden strain she put on them, she kept on walking. The good weather would soon change to rain and Kate wanted to enjoy what was left of it. A scraping of stone on stone made her look up, a few little pieces of rock were falling down from a windowsill one floor up. A hard push had her on the ground a few metres away from where she had been standing just a moment ago. A hard thud made her turn around. On the same spot there now was a large piece of rock, which would have certainly killed her on impact. Looking up she heard the window lock itself again. Her saviour turned out to be no other than Ian.

"Ian are you alright?" She exclaimed getting herself back on her feet.

"I am perfectly fine Katie, it is you I am more worried about. Someone did just attempt to kill you."

The pet name he had used for her when she was little calmed Kate her racing heart as she helped the man back up on his feet. "I have no doubt on who is behind that rock, I guess I will just have to watch my back even better from now on."

**AN: I am sooooooooooooo sorry for the late update. I just came back from a couple of months in England and I started a couple of other stories, and my laptop crashed. I hope the other chapters will come quicker**.


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